Life in Lazytown
by Abigail Rose V
Summary: I am doing this story for the second time. i had too many problems with the first time, so i am trying it again. i am not too good at this, but i love it. This is a story about Sportacus's sidekick, Sportsicus, and himself, as they live in Lazytown. i have always wondered what it was like to live there, so i give it a shot here. Some is fact, some is fiction, i am Sportsicus btw.:)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Eyes narrowed, both superhero and his assistant glared at each other over the net.

Then they both hurled the 3 balls and one birdie the carried over the net and flipped over, and rolled under, the net, batting the balls and birdie with lightning speed with the rackets they carried.

They were battling it out between themselves, - and loving every minute of it.

Sportacus and his assistant and best friend, Sportsicus, were playing a game Sportsicus had invented: Birdie-ball.

The rules were simple: Each contestant had three tennis balls, one birdie, and two rackets.

To win, you had to keep all your balls in the air and never let them touch the ground, while batting your birdie into the other player's goal net and making them pick it back up.

Every ball that hit the goals took away one point per ball from the player who batted it, and for every birdie that hit the net you gained two points.

You had to hit the balls with one net, and the birdie with the other.

You could not hit the birdie and balls with the same racket, or you lost five points.

You batted the balls over a net between you and the other player, and you could go over and under the net, but never around it, to keep your balls in the air, and the other player's birdie out of your net.

You could bat the birdie under the net, but never the balls. Each round was played for five minutes. You could bounce the balls off other objects around you, so long as they did not touch the ground.

The two blue-clad athletes had been playing this game for near 15 minutes now.

Sportacus had won the first round, Sportsicus the second, and now they were struggling to see who would win the third round.

The game was tied, and they had one minute left.

As they passed each other in the air for the umpteenth time, batting the birdies back to each other, Sportacus's crystal began flashing.

A split second later, a space seen only by those who looked closely, so did Sportsicus's.

Both landed on their feet and glanced at their crystals.

Sportsicus's crystal only flashed after Sportacus's flashed and only when there was a dual emergency, or when he required her help.

Normally, she would either come along, and stay in the background observing, or stay in the airship, keeping an eye on him through her spyglass.

If he needed her, her crystal would flash and she would be on her way to help.

Looking into their crystals, they saw Robbie Rotten in a runaway wagon going down Main Street, heading right towards Ms. Busybody who was on the phone.

The second image was of Ziggy losing his balance and about to fall off the wall near the gardens, the other children were there too and there was a huge mess of vegetables and overturned baskets all around them.

" You take Ziggy, I've got Robbie." Sportacus spoke quickly as she nodded, following him as he ran towards the door.

" Door!" he cried.

" Door opening.", the computer responded, opening the door.

Sportacus leaped off the edge, twisting till a pedal ship opened up out of his backpack, and headed down, Sportsicus close behind.

They swerved towards their respective targets, and landed nearby, Sportacus landing first, being the faster of the two.

He flipped over the wall and sped toward the telephone, Ms. Busybody, and Robbie.

Doing 3 back handsprings, he landed behind the wagon, and grasped the edge of it firmly, looking into the terrified face of Robbie Rotten.

The wagon stopped three feet from Ms. Busybody, who gasped when she saw what happened.

Robbie climbed shakily out of the wagon, mumbling uncomfortably under his breath.

" Oh, thank you Sportacus!" Mrs. Busybody cried. " I knew you would save the day!"

" You're welcome." Sportacus said as he watch Robbie out of the corner of his eye, red-faced, shifting from foot to foot next to him.

He turned to Robbie.

" Are you all right?" he asked.

" Wha- why, I'm always all right!" Robbie fumed.

" How did you get into Stingy's wagon?" Sportacus asked, hiding the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Robbie stammered a moment, then said, " Those kids pushed me, yeah, that's it. I was picking, those, those, vegetables," here Robbie grimaced, " And here come those brats, and pushed me into it. I didn't do anything." Robbie said, ending sort of pleading, with a wide-eyed innocent look on his face.

Sportacus just looked sideways at Robbie, and folded his arms across his chest.

" Anyway, gotta go!" Robbie said, and turned and hurried off, grumbling angrily to himself about sporting athletic elves and how they think they are so good.

Sportacus shook his head and turned to go." Wait, Sporty!" Ms. Busybody called.

Sportacus turned to see her holding out an apple for him.

" Thank you." Sportacus said, taking it and biting into the crisp, juicy apple.

" Mmm, just what I needed." He said after he swallowed.

Ms. Busybody beamed and continued down the street, humming to herself.

Meanwhile, Sportsicus had been busy saving Ziggy.

She landed her ship and, not waiting for it to refold, ran to the garden jumping and flipping over the walls.

By the time she flipped over the garden wall, the pedal ship had retracted so she could roll under Ziggy and catch him as he fell.

" Oh thank you Sport- uh, Sportsicus!" he said happily.

" Your welcome." Sportsicus smiled as she carefully got up, placing Ziggy on the ground.

" I thought you might be Sportacus, but I see who you are now." Ziggy laughed.

Sportsicus shook her head, grinning.

It was common for her and Sportacus to be confused, especially from a distance.

He was, after all, 5'8", and she was 5'5", both clad in the same costume, both performed the same stunts, both were nearly hyper active, both had the same blue eyes, and what little hair you could see under their caps, rudely called Elfin caps by Robbie, a title they hated, they had the same color of hair.

However, when you looked closer, there were some obvious differences.

For one, she was more slightly built due to being female, he was faster and stronger, he had a mustache, she limped slightly when she walked due to an injury from her childhood back on Earth 1 that, for some strange reason, the healing Icelandic waters nor her elfin blood never healed.

In addition, he had a deeper voice then she, even though she did not have a particularly high voice anyway, and could imitate him easily if she wanted to, thus the reason she could control the airship.

And, there were more subtle differences too.

For instance, he was more agile and cat like in his antics then she was, even after five years of living in Lazytown.

She also had a sweet tooth, though after she drank the purifying Iceland water, and the crystal activated, she went into a sugar meltdown whenever she ate sweets, which rarely happened unless she was tricked into it.

Another difference was his hair was curly while hers was wavy, and she had a whitish streak through her hair that he did not possess.

" Where's Sportacus?" Stephanie asked her, looking around for the missing superhero.

" Saving Robbie." Sportsicus grinned. " As always."

As she spoke, Sportacus flipped over the wall, landing next to her amidst the delighted gasps of the children.

" Here I am!" Sportacus announced smiling at all the children.

" Sportacus!" They squealed, running over to hug him.

Sportacus hugged them all, smiling at Sportsicus over their heads.

She smiled back, guessing what he was thinking, as he said it so often, _I am so glad Number Nine let you in._

Sportsicus grinned wider as she thought of the busy superhero patrolling the skies in Earth 3.

It was his job to keep all outsiders out, and not let the jump gates around Earth 1 and 3 to be discovered by accident.

If he let someone in, it was because he saw something special in that person-or elf, in the case of her and Sportacus.

He used to be Lazytown's superhero, but Robbie had blocked the letter shoot, and he thought no one wanted or needed him anymore, so he spoke to the directors, editors, and producers, and seemed to have vanished from sight.

Even they no longer controlled him.

He had given the book of Lazytown to Sportacus after Sportacus had completed his quest to the Icelandic mountain to secure his crystal.

Number Nine had guided Sportsicus to Lazytown to fulfill her quest for her life work.

He had also allowed all the newcomers in Lazytown in: Art the artist and musician, Ms. Pen, the librarian, Dr. Quack, the doctor, and Dr. Green, the naturalist.

Sportacus considered him the true superhero, which is why he never accepted the tile of superhero for himself.

He did not think himself great enough for the title, but his friends strongly disagreed.

" So **that's** why Robbie was riding in your wagon." Sportacus's voice broke into her thoughts.

" Yep." Trixie said, nodding vigorously.

" We really should clean this up." Stephanie said, looking around at the vegetables and baskets.

" Yeah!" the other kids chorused.

" Sportacus, Sportacus! Could you, maybe, help us?" Ziggy asked, hardly containing his excitement.

" Well…" Sportacus stroked his chin and looked thoughtful, then winked at Ziggy.

" Of course we'll help."

Sportacus glanced over at Sportsicus, who gave him a quizzical look.

Sportacus chuckled softly and shook his head, then flipped over the children to land beside her.

" Daydreaming again?" he asked softly.

Sportsicus nodded, blushing.

" Robbie tried to stop the kids from harvesting the garden, and stepped on an acorn squash.

He fell into the wagon, which rolled away with him. That's why our crystals blinked and the gardens are a mess."

" Gotcha." Sportsicus said, squeezing Sportacus's arm and slapping him on the back.

" Thanks. Now lets go."

She then watched as Sportacus flipped over to the other end of the garden.

" Pile the baskets in the wagon." He instructed, turning his back on them and pulling two ping-pong paddles from his modified synth suit.

The suit had been special ordered from Earth 2, when it had the disaster that sparked the books, In The After, and In The End.

The Guardians kindly shared their secret suits for Sportacus to wear, so all his sweat was wicked away instantly, and never had to change, though they had made some adjustments in it for him.

The metal reinforcing harness was a mixture of titanium and aluminum, so it was strong but flexible.

No iron, since it was lethal to elves.

Sportsicus smiled and pulled out a ping-pong paddle of her own from her suit and scooped up a squash with it.

She tossed it in the air, then _Wham!_ Smacked it towards Sportacus's back.

Deftly, he smacked it with his paddle and zinged it right into a basket on the wagon.

The children clapped and cheered as they began throwing vegetables at him.

Sportsicus chuckled, the picked up the wagon handle and began running around the gardens with it.

She heard Stephanie gasp, but Sportacus just moved faster and landed every vegetable in every basket with perfect accuracy, no matter how fast or sudden Sportsicus made the wagon move.

Finally, the mess around the gardens was all cleaned up.

Both Sportacus and Sportsicus laughed as the returned their paddles to their suits, back flipped and met in mid air, grasped each other's hands, did an aerial cartwheel, and landed facing each other.

Then they fist bumped, spun around, crossed arms and high-fived each other.

It was their special victory move.

Grinning, they turned as one as Mayor Meanswell walked up.

" Well done, children!" he praised them.

" That's one more mark on your "Community Care" worksheet. That makes two now."

The kids all high-fived each other and cheered.

Sportsicus turned to Sportacus, confusion written on her face.

Sportacus shrugged his shoulders, then Stephanie giggled and explained that they were doing a project for school, called Community Care.

They were to get a mark every time they did something to help the Lazytown community, like mowing the lawns, weeding the flowers, or harvesting vegetables.

" So far we have harvested the gardens, and washed the town hall's windows." Trixie reported proudly.

" Wow." Sportacus said, looking over the worksheets the children handed him.

Sportsicus looked over at them too, then turned away, biting her lip.

She listened to the children prattling on to Sportacus about their school project.

Tears sprang unbidden into her eyes as she listened.

Last year had been her last year in school, and she felt as if the children no longer wanted her around.

All the other years, if she got the least bit sad or afraid, Stephanie would notice right off and rush to help her.

Like if she was missing Magnus, Sportacus's real name, or if Robbie scared her, or if she got in trouble again for too much activity during class, or if she was scared about returning back to earth for Christmas, or that the elves would somehow fool Number Nine and steal her and Magnus back to Elfland, or that her Elfin powers were diminishing or getting stronger, or if someone found out they were really elves, or Trixie or Stingy or both were picking on her, or just last year, on November tenth, on Sportacus's birthday.

She had wrote him a song, and was too shy to sing it to him.

The ten year old girl in pink helped her get her courage up and supported her while she sang by her mere presence, as she was Sportsicus's best friend next to Sportacus.

Summer break she always saw less of the children, as she spent more time with Sportacus, her best best friend.

But even he seemed to be tiring of her near constant presence, she realized with a jolt.

He should have noticed she was unhappy by now, and at least nudged her to remind her he was there for her.

He and he alone knew of her mental difficulty, and her constant need to be reminded of his love, and the children's friendship.

A moment later, she felt his hand rest on her shoulder, and squeeze gently.

She relaxed a bit, realizing he must have just had his hands full.

She was about to turn around, burying her grief over her supposed lost friendship with Stephanie, when her excellent hearing, gift of the Icelandic waters and elfin beginnings both to her and Sportacus who each drank the waters exclusively, due to their elfin blood, picked up Trixie and Stingy, and, no, it couldn't be, Pixel too.

They were talking in low voices while Ziggy and Stephanie chatted with Sportacus.

" She carries on soooo long." Trixie was complaining.

" Taking up **my** time." Stingy hissed.

" Almost as bad as Sportsie." Pixel added.

Sportsie was her nickname a select few used, and her ears burned when they used it like they did.

" Sportagirl must have rubbed off." Trixie said, voice still low, but angry sounding.

" I was kinda glad when she left school." Pixel said seriously. " I wanted things back to normal. She kinda seems messed up sometimes. Don't know why Sportacus seems so taken with her."

" Me neither!" Trixie agreed.

" Uh uh." Stingy shook his head.

" Now Pinky's carrying on. Thought she was glad to see less of Sporta-"

Sportsicus could take no more.

Sportagirl was a name she hated almost as much as Blue Elf.

She mumbled something to Sportacus about needing to do something, knowing he must have overheard as well, since he had tightened his hand on her, wrenched her shoulder free of his grip, then flipped over the wall and ran till she could hear them no longer.

She perched on a bench arm and waited for Sportacus to arrive.

She buried her head in her knees, hugging them tightly while she waited.

And waited.

And waited.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As Sportsicus flipped over the wall, Stephanie looked up in shock.

" What's wrong?" She questioned Sportacus, who had a grim look on his face.

" She looked upset. Was it something I said? I know she is really sensitive, but-" 

" It's not you." Sportacus said firmly, and glanced at Stingy, Trixie, and Pixel, who had fallen silent. 

Sportacus looked deeply disappointed in them, and the three children looked away in shame.

" I must go after her." Sportacus said.

" Wait!" Pixel said. 

Sportacus stopped and looked at him silently. 

" We, well, we should go too. We were the ones who upset her after all." Pixel swallowed nervously. 

" Thanks, but no thanks Pixel." Sportacus said gently. " This is something only I should handle." 

He smiled kindly at them all, and flipped over the wall to go after Sportsicus.

 _Blink, blink._ Sportacus looked down at his crystal and groaned to himself. 

This happened last time he had tried to get to his elfin companion to comfort her.

He saw the trouble was a baby squirrel trying to climb a tree, but was slipping.

Sportacus flew into action. 

He raced across town, jumping walls, flipping over bushes, and cartwheeling past Ms. Busybody, who gasped as he shot past.

When he arrived at the tree, he reached up and jumped. 

He caught the baby squirrel and returned him to his nest in the neighboring tree. 

" Be more careful next time." Sportacus told the squirrel, tickling the little one under his chin.

Then he hopped down and started towards where he supposed his friend would be waiting for him. 

But he had hardly gotten twenty feet when his crystal went off again. 

Sportacus but his lip as he raced to get the Mayor before he fell off the chimney he was perched on, as the superhero could see that the ladder the mayor had used to get up there had fallen to the ground.

 _What is he doing up there?  
_

Sportacus thought wonderingly to himself. 

These humans always amazed him with their ability to get into trouble.

But saving people was his favorite thing to do, so he didn't really mind.

He climbed up the wall with his special boots, which clung to walls like a fly, enabling him to do so if necessary.

He wrapped his arms around the mayor, and leaped to the ground.

" Oh, Sportacus, thank you!" The mayor said, gasping for breath as he dusted himself off.

" Your welcome." Sportacus said with a smile, and prepared to set off again.

" Wait! Sportacus!" That mayor called out to him, sounding desperate.

Sportacus stopped and looked back at the mayor, wondering what he wanted.

" Could you please, I mean I know it's not the usual thing you do, but could you clean Ms. Busybody's chimney for me? I can't seem to fit, and the ladder keeps falling down."

The mayor looked helplessly at the chimney.

" Of course." Sportacus told him, took the duster form him, leaped back onto the roof and slid down the chimney, twisting as he did so, so that the chimney would be clean when he was done.

He landed in Mrs. Busybody's living room, where she was knitting.

" Oh my!" she exclaimed as he landed in her fireplace, covered in soot.

" Sportacus! What are you doing? You're a mess! Worse then when you jump in the mud puddles after it rains. Let's get you cleaned off."

Sportacus opened his mouth to tell her he was fine, but she took him by the arm and drug him into the bathroom, where she began to wipe his face and arms with a washcloth.

Sportacus suppressed a sigh as she cleaned him off, tut tutting to her self and saying it's the least she can do when he so kindly cleaned her chimney like that for her, getting his fine suit all dirty.

Then she offered to loan him some clothes while she cleaned his suit and he showered.

Finally getting a chance to speak, Sportacus excused himself as quickly as he could, saying he would do it himself, not to worry about him.

Ms. Busybody reluctantly let him go, and thanked him again for cleaning her chimney.

Sportacus dashed out the door and flipped down the street, jumping on his skateboard and riding it partway.

He reached the bench where Abby, her real name, usually waited for him if they needed to meet someplace other then the airship, but she wasn't there.

Sportacus wasted no time, but turned around and headed to where he had left his air ship.

" Ladder!" he called out, and it fell down.

Sportacus clambered up the ladder in record time, and pulled himself in, rolling and leaping to his feet.

Sportsicus was not to be seen.

Sportacus stood as if paralyzed for a second, his brain working over drive.

The he licked his lips nervously and commanded the door to open again.

He stepped out onto the platform created by the door, and knelt down.

" Spyglass." he whispered, and looked thought it.

He saw no sign of his assistant at first, then his heart leaped into his throat.

For he saw her being led by one other then Robbie Rotten himself towards his cannon.

A moment later, his crystal glowed, brighter then normal as it did when Sportsicus was in trouble, and on hers if he was in trouble.

He glanced into it and his mouth went dry.

Sportsicus was biting into an apple she had just plucked off the tree, refusing the one Robbie offered her.

But as she bit down, Robbie's face twisted in fury and he wrenched the sports candy from her grip and shoved the sugared apple into her mouth, grinning wickedly.

Sportacus did not wait to see more.

He threw himself off the airship, twisting desperately before she bite down and melted down.

The pedal ship barely was formed when his crystal glowed red and he felt most of his energy drain away.

He weakly brought an apple to his lips and recharged himself, the pedal furiously down to the ground, keeping the apple in hand to keep up his energy.

It was the one of the only downsides to them both being elves.

Their crystals had combined powers when she had hugged him, and his crystal, to her and consequently, her crystal, when she had found him the day they met.

The elfin magic in the crystals enabled then to sense when one went into a sugar meltdown, and sapped almost all of the other's energy as well.

As long as he never stopped eating his sports candy, he could still save her, but if he ran out, he would be nearly useless, unless….

Sportacus didn't want to think about the " unless "

It meant throwing his crystal far from him, for once it was removed from his body heat, he wouldn't be affected by its magic anymore.

But if it stayed off for too long, he would re-form back into an elf again, and there was no return from that state once he re-entered it.

He was an elf now, but was also human, he just did not know how human he really was.

The same went for his best best friend.

They had been born 20 some elf years apart, but both had wound up in the same place.

They had both, after a time of being elves in Elfland, decided to see what it was like to be humans.

They both re-born themselves in human forms, and grew up with their human family.

Neither desired to return to Elfland, but remain as elves in human form.

They loved to help people, and to be people, which made the elves hate them.

The elves chased them, trying to make them return to Efland, but they would have none of it.

Eventually, they found each other, and lived together in Lazytown, the only place of safety there was for these ex-Elfland elves.

Sportacus had come first, and Sportsicus long after.

To keep himself safe even he left, Sportacus had pleaded with the Elf leaders for some sort of charm that would grant them him freedom.

They gave him a quest to find the magical crystals growing in the mountains of his homeland of Iceland.

Sportacus completed his quest, as did many years later Sportsicus, having the same idea as he.

They retained their elfin powers, but stayed in human form.

When Sportacus had to make his choice to either stay in Lazytown forever, or risk dying in the jump gates between Earth 3 and Earth 1 back in 2014, he talked with is wife, who convinced him to divorce, but really they still loved each other, and he remained trapped in Earth 3.

Neither could tell their children, as it was too dangerous.

The elves had rendered both Sportacus and Sportsicus's bodies unable to reproduce after they made their choice to never leave Earth Three, and removed all sexual impulses so they could never create more of themselves.

Both superhero and assistant had found twins of themselves and placed them on Earth One to carry one in their stead.

The films were still them, as the camera drones captured every moment of their lives, unless Sportacus drove them away for some privacy.

He had to power to do so since he more or less created Lazytown.

Elioheim only had the power to remove his life now, as you could not age in Earth Three, unless you went back to Earth One.

Then you aged a day, or week, or however long you stayed there.

But on Earth Three, you never age.

Stephanie was not an elf, but the portals were too strong for her and she choose to stay as well, never to return to earth one.

Now as he was fighting to get to his beloved fellow elf, he knew he might have to risk throwing away his precious crystal and hope he found it again later.

He landed the ship and stumbled slightly as he delayed his bite into the apple.

Then he took off for where he had last seen them.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

While Sportacus was being thwarted from reaching her by all the saves he was doing, Sportsicus was being led to believe she had been abandoned.

Tears flowed down her cheeks as she buried her head in her knees, trying to tell herself that Magnus would never desert her, ever!

They were best best friends, after all.

As she was thinking this, she felt a sharp jerk on her hat.

She leapt up and spun around to see who was there.

When she saw who it was, she swallowed hard.

Robbie Rotten stood before her, a smirk on his face.

" What do you want?" Sportsicus asked him, slowly edging towards the wall behind her.

" I heard you crying, my dear girl." Robbie said in a silky smooth voice that sounded as if it was dripping with honey.

" Cry-crying?" Sportsicus gulped.

" Yes, darling, and I see that Sportakook couldn't be bothered to come, uh, _comfort_ you." Robbie stated, a snippet of hate curling out of his mouth.

" I am sure that _Sportacus_ is just very busy saving people." Sportsicus stated, narrowing her eyes at Robbie, who just smiled sweetly.

" Come come, my dear girl, even _you_ should be able to see that he doesn't _really_ care about you. Tell me, when was the last time he said, I love you?"

Sportsicus rolled her eyes. " Robbie, look, it's not like we even have to say that. We know we are special to each other, and besides, what does our private conversations mean to you?"

Robbie looked at her with a kindly smile.

" If you knew that he loved and cared about you, then why are you crying? What about Pinky? Does she care? Or does she agree with the other bra-, uh, kids, who tease you and call you, Sporta-"

" Stop!" Sportsicus had her hands over her ears, though she knew it would make no difference.

" Calm down." Robbie placed his hands on her shoulders and gently rubbed, flicking her ears out from under her elfin cap and brushing his thumbs against them.

Sportsicus had a tingle run down her spine. _What was that?_ She wondered as her body relaxed. _It can't be… not Robbie. Not The Touch…no… not from him…_

" That's better." Robbie said soothingly, " No flipping, no spinning, no dancing, just relaxing..." And he continued rubbing her tender ears, brushing the tips gently.

Sportsicus moaned softly in bliss and leaned her head back dreamily as he slowly stroked her ears.

" I knew you were an elf." Robbie's voice hissed in one of her ears. " What about Sportakook? Is he an elf too?"

" Mmm-hmm." Sportsicus moaned, letting her eyes close to slits.

Robbie abruptly pulled his hands away.

" Well, Elfie, how did that feel?"

Sportsicus was about to respond when it hit her what she had just said about her fellow elf.

 _No!_ her mind screamed at her, as Robbie gently flicked her ear tips with his fingers and she bit back a groan of pleasure.

Sportsicus stood up, her body trying to force her back down. This was getting dangerous.

" Robbie, stop doing this to me. How did you know..?"

Robbie smiled gently, masking the glee he felt at having discovered what he had known for years.

" Let's just say I have known for years, and have kept both yours and that crazy sports freak's secret for many, many years. Want some more?"

Sportsicus gritted her teeth in an attempt to control her tingling ears. She tucked them back under the tight hat, immediately cutting off all feeling to them.

" No." Sportsicus turned and was about to walk away when Robbie stopped her.

" I think you should repay me for what I did for you all these years, not to mention the utter bliss I just let you experience."

Sportsicus hesitated, then said, " If you promise not to tell on our being elves."

" Of course." Robbie purred. " Be a good elf and I'll rub your ears again for you."

Sportsicus flinched. _Don't let yourself be drawn in._ She told herself firmly.

" That won't be necessary." She assured him.

Robbie looked smug.

Sportsicus cleared her throat. " Lead the way, Robbie."

Robbie turned and led her towards his large cannon a short ways away.

Sportsicus looked at it, then asked, " What do you want me to do with this?"

Robbie grinned. " Well, I need it moved over near the billboard, and I feel like getting some help for it."

Sportsicus smiled. She loved hard work.

" Sure." She replied. " Just let me get some sports candy first, okay?"

Robbie held out an apple. " Here you go, my pretty sweet." He smirked slightly.

Sportsicus shook her head. She knew better then to accept food from Robbie.

" I got it Robbie." She said and jumped up and snatched an apple from the tree over head.

Robbie snarled and leapt forward, knocking the apple out of the surprised elf-girl's hand.

He thrust the sugar apple into her mouth and forced her to take a bite. Instantly, her eyes rolled back and she collapsed to the ground, moaning as the swirling darkness surrounded her, aching from her head to her feet, as sugar meltdowns were painful as well as frustrating, since all their energy melted away when they ingested sugar, and gave them stomach aches and headaches, besides the body aches.

Just then, Robbie remembered something: Sportacus would get affected too!

Robbie gleefully laughed, and waited for the slowed up superhero to arrive.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Sportacus raced through town, dodging walls and sliding around corners.

He kept his teeth in the apple, chewing slightly.

He did not dare for a moment remove the vital sports candy, or he might have fallen and dropped it.

As he skidded around the corner where he last saw the villain and Sportsicus, he saw that they had moved.

Or at least, Robbie had moved Sportsicus.

She was in a heap by Robbie's big cannon, looking as if she had been thrown there.

Sportacus didn't waste a second.

Dashing past a surprised Robbie, he removed the apple and held it to his assistant's lips.

As he did so, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Looking up, he was met by a pair of furious gray eyes and the apple was snatched from his grasp as his knees buckled under him.

Robbie threw back his head and let out an evil laugh, thereby not noticing the superhero removing his crystal.

When Robbie glanced back down, his eyes widened as Sportacus pulled back his arm and threw the crystal with all his might.

Then Sportacus leapt to his feet, strong once more, and snatched another apple out of his backpack.

This time, the stunned Robbie made no move to stop him as he gently helped his friend take a bite and chew it.

As she swallowed, Sportsicus's crystal glowed green, then pink as it registered Sportacus's crystal gone from him.

She looked up at Sportacus with a look of shock on her face, then her mouth opened as she tried to shout a warning.

But it was too late.

The villain had already seen his last chance and had slipped Sportacus's hat off his head and grasped his ears firmly between his fingers.

Sportacus gasped in pain as Robbie slowly forced him to the ground.

Sportsicus tried to rise, but when she moved, Robbie cruelly twisted her friend's ears, making him groan in pain.

Eyes wide, she remained on the ground as Robbie loosed his grip and began to rub and stroke Sportacus's ears gently, making the look of pain slowly change to one of shock, then pure bliss as he contentedly closed his eyes.

Then Robbie reached forward, and slipped Sportsicus's hat off as well, ad set to work on both of them.

He brushed the tips with a special brush, making them squeal softly, then rubbed them with a warm wet washcloth, causing them to squeal louder.

Robbie chuckled wickedly to himself as he continued ministering to the elves ears.

 _This is too easy!_

He thought to himself as they both went limp on him, tumbling into his lap, groaning with pleasure.

Meanwhile, Sportacus's crystal, still flying through the air, started glowing.

It zipped past Stephanie as she exited her house, giving her a brief glimpse of it as it shot past.

" Sportacus's crystal!" she gasped, and took off after it.

She chased the disappearing streak until it crash-landed outside the town walls.

Stephanie turned around and raced to get to her uncle.

Besides her, he was the only one who knew that both heroes were elves, as Sportacus did not feel right in living in Mayor Meanswell's town without him knowing.

And Stephanie had a feeling that something elfish was afoot, so she avoided all the other kids as she ran to get her uncle in his office.

" Uncle! Uncle!" she shouted as she ran, breathless, into his office.

" Yes, my dear?" the mayor asked sweetly, looking up from his paperwork.

" Sportacus's crystal! It landed outside the town walls! Something is up and I need your help!" Stephanie stated, trying to catch her breath.

" Right away my dear. If our hero needs our help, then we are there!" he announced bravely.

Stephanie gave him a crushing hug. " Thanks, Uncle." She said, and led the way.

When they reached the edge of town, the mayor opened the gate and they both hurried out to where the crystal had been last seen.

Searching desperately, the finally located it when the mayor stepped on it and fell down.

Stephanie rushed to his side and picked it up.

" Great job, Uncle!" she cried, and taking his hand, rushed back into town.

" Now go and save Sportacus." Her uncle told her warmly, as she flashed him a bright smile and dashed off towards the tree house to locate the superhero.

Minutes later, she arrived at the tree house and clambered to the top. Without pausing for breath, she scanned the town, spotting something strange by Robbie's cannon.

She squinted her eyes and gasped as she saw that both blue-clad athletes were down in the villain's lap, hats off, eyes barely open as he fondled their ears.

She set her mouth in a firm line and climbed down the tree house ladder as fast as she could.

When she drew near the spot where she had spotted Robbie and her two best friends, she slowed.

She decided to sneak up on Robbie, _which wouldn't be hard_ , she thought.

She carefully snuck up behind him, listening to the sighs and moans of the elves as Robbie tickled their ears just right.

She had always loved that sound, ever since on day many years ago, a while after he had moved in, Sportacus had decided to let her in on his secret.

He had bent down one day while she was telling him what a great hero he was, and how she wanted to do something nice for him, when he had told her softly to remove his hat.

Eyes wide, she did so, and her eyes nearly popped when she saw his pointed ears.

" You're-you're an elf!" she had gasped quietly, as Sportacus nodded.

" Shh!" he had warned her, glancing around and putting his finger to her lips. " It's a secret, could you help me keep it?"

She had promised, and he had told her how he told her uncle that the day he had moved to town.

Stephanie was further surprised when he had asked her to stroke his ears, a strange look in his eyes.

She had tentatively reached out a hand and stroked one ear gently, being rewarded with a soft sigh as he half closed his eyes.

" Keep going." He had murmured, so she did, giggling at the sigh of the hero's dreamy expression as she got bolder and stroke both.

When she had rubbed the tips, he had startled her with a low groan. She had yanked her hand back, but was reassured when her uncle entered her room, having heard what was going on, and assured her this meant he was blissfully content.

Mayor Meanswell had then showed her various ways of sending the super hero into the greatest bliss and contentment, even getting a squeal out of him once.

Stephanie had giggled and made him squeal again, and ever since, when she wanted to reward him for an especially good job, she and her uncle would invite him down in the evening to have his ears fondled, or "twitched" as he called it.

His eyes would get real wide when they told him to kneel down and remove his hat, and he always did, a giddy smile on his lips.

But they never did it for too long, as he had warned them about over doing it and getting him addicted to it. So they saved it for only special times, and then only for a little while.

Whenever they stopped, Sportacus would look up at them with dreamy eyes, and clap his hat back on, and crush Stephanie in a bear hug, and shake the mayor's hand vigorously.

Stephanie had always loved the sound of the elves groaning with pleasure, for when Sportsicus came, she was delighted to find the ritual and was usually under Stephanie's fingers for the rubbing.

The bond between them had grown every time, and Stephanie credited the rubbings with the reason they were such close friends. Sometimes she would get Sportacus, but most times she got the elf-girl.

Now, as she listened to the usually comforting sounds, her heart sank.

Sportacus once told her that some humans had what the elves called "The Touch", and it could very nearly hypnotize an elf into doing whatever the person wanted them too, in exchange for more of the rubbing.

He had assured her that neither she nor the mayor had it, but he had a dreamy look in his eyes as he told her that once he had experienced The Touch, and he sort of wished he could again, " Just once more." He had told her quickly, seeing the look of alarm on her face.

" It's one of the most best feelings an elf can have, being fondled by the fingers of one who has The Touch." He had explained.

Now, as she listened to the crooning of the elves, she knew without a doubt that Robbie had The Touch, as he had never seen either of the athletes so relaxed, so still, and so content looking.

Grimly, she snuck up on Robbie, and reached around him to secure the crystal into place on Sportacus's chest.

The latches were too stiff for her, and she couldn't risk being found out by Robbie.

So she sat back on her heels, and tried to think of a plan.

Suddenly, the perfect plan struck her: Robbie was ticklish! Very ticklish.

Sportacus had demonstrated that once, when Robbie was pretending to be nice, and was really trying to steal Stephanie's diary.

Sportacus had reached around him as he picked it up, and tickled his sides unmercifully.

Robbie had screamed and squealed, and finally ran away.

Grinning, she reached her fingers around Robbie and tickled him.

Robbie stiffened, then doubled over, screaming with laughter into the dirt at his feet, his head nearly resting on Sportacus's legs.

Both elves slowly got to their feet, looking dazed, shaking their heads from side to side, wobbling a bit.

Stephanie continued tickling the helpless villain, till both of her best friend's heads cleared and Sportacus had locked his crystal back into place.

Then she removed her fingers and turned the gasping Robbie to face her.

" Robbie." She said severely. " That was not nice of you."

" What?" Robbie said, the smile vanishing from his mouth as his eyes widened.

Stephanie tickle him again.

" Stop it! Stop it!" Robbie screamed as she grimly held onto him.

She stopped and allowed Robbie to catch is breath.

Sportacus grinned down at Robbie. " Promise you won't tell?" he asked in a teasing tone.

"I promise!" Robbie yelped, jerking away from Stephanie.

Robbie cowered against the wall as Sportacus bent down and pulled him to his feet.

" Thanks." He said, grinning widely at the frightened villain.

Sportsicus shook her head form behind him, chuckling.

Sportacus let go of Robbie, and the tall thin man turned tail and ran away.

Then the hero turned to Stephanie in time to see his assistant melt into tears and cling to the girl in pink, hugging the breath out of her.

Stephanie hugged her back, smiling.

" You still love me, I love you too Stephanie." Sportsicus whispered thorough her tears.

" Of course I do." Stephanie assured her.

Sportacus knelt down, and enfolded both of them into a great crushing bear hug, burying his face into Stephanie's shoulder.

" Thank you." He whispered into her ear.

Stephanie just hugged both of them harder with the one arm she had free.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After the events of the afternoon, they unengaged themselves from their hug, bid each other fond goodbyes, and headed towards their homes for dinner.

The two heroes cartwheeled down the street and raced each other back to the airship ladder.

Upon reaching it, they each leapt onto the opposite of the ladder from the other, and raced to the top.

As usual, Sportacus got there first, and rolled inside, Sportsicus close behind him.

Doing a handspring, they reached the table, whereupon Sportacus shouted, " Bowl! Lettuce! Paddle! Racket!" and began shredding lettuce into a large bowl.

Sportsicus called for nuts and a red bell pepper, and easily used her paddle and racket to add them to the salad.

Then Sportacus called for olive oil, as Sportsicus called for pepper.

After adding these to the mix, Sportacus kicked the bowl into the air, yelling as he did so, " Toss!"

Tossing the bowl at Sportsicus, who caught it and hollered for the dishwasher to appear, he grabbed the other two bowls he called for and swiftly had the tossed salad into two bowls, one for each of them.

Sportsicus grabbed two smoothie bottles from the rack, and tossed in strawberries, banana, yogurt, and spinach, handed one to Sportacus, then they both flipped onto their sports bikes, and mixed the smoothies to perfection.

They handed each other a bottle, the hungrily wolfed down their meal. They hated standing still for long, so they ate quickly, but neatly.

Then they both wanted dessert.

" I'll get yours, you can get mine." Sportacus eagerly told his friend.

She grinned broadly and turned around.

Sportacus selected an apple and some peanut butter, then some yogurt.

Chuckling to himself, he glanced over his shoulder at Sportsicus and set to work.

He blended the apple, peanut butter and yogurt together, then added several chopped carrots in a bowl with the mixture.

" Ta-da!" he declared with a flourish, handing her the bowl.

Her eyes widened with surprise.

" My favorite! Thanks, Sportasweet!" she exclaimed, using one of her nicknames for him.

He blushed. " You're welcome, Sportsieanna." Using one of his own nicknames for her, causing her to blush.

" Now you turn around." Sportsicus directed him, setting her own bowl on the table.

Sportacus turned around, but being the tease he was, snapped back around a second later.

She was waiting for that, and threw a grape at him.

He opened his mouth and caught it, winked, and closed his eyes.

Sportsicus sighed, smiling. She flipped over to him, grabbed his arms, and spun him around and around before letting him go.

Sportacus nearly crashed face first into the door as he stumbled forward, then stopped as called out, without turning around, " Okay, I'm ready this time."

Laughing, Sportsicus began making his desert. She snatched mangos and kiwis and apples from the rack, chopped them up, drizzled a honey-yogurt mixture over it, and squeezed some lemon on for good measure.

" Alright!" she called to the ever patient, though fidgety, superhero. " You can turn around, but don't open your eyes, not even a crack. I want you to taste this first, not see it."

Sportacus compiled, turning around and making his way to stand in front of her. " Is it my favorite?" he asked breathlessly.

She smiled at his excitement. " Wait and taste." She said happily, then spooned some of it into his mouth.

Sportacus's face lit up as it hit his tongue, and he opened his eyes and hugged her tight.

" This must be my birthday!" he exclaimed, twirling her in the air. " I have never tasted anything so good! My new favorite."

" Not your birthday, you big doofus!" she laughed, punching him lightly on the arm. " You have 2 more days till your birthday, but I hear it's going to rain with extra heavy wind and lightning, so we might be stuck here keeping the airship in one piece all day."

Sportacus's face fell, until he saw her teasing smile as she winked. " You!" he exclaimed as, tackling her playfully, they rolled around wrestling on the floor, laughing as they did so.

A few moments later, they both realized they had not finished super yet.

Both of them returned to the table and ate their deserts, grinning at each other.

Once they finished, they set the dishes into the dishwasher and turned it on with a kick.

Then they each pulled out a jump rope, and began to skip rope on the buttons on the floor, as this was how they washed, and dried, their dishes.

2,000 jumps later, the dishes were washed, dried, and put away in their racks.

Sportacus called for a ball and twirled it on his finger thoughtfully. Sportsicus got busy with some push-ups as dribbled the ball around and between his legs to one of the windows and looked out.

" Let's go down." He suggested, tossing the ball back into the wall and flipping towards the door.

CRASH! Smack into the door. Sportacus rolled backwards, holding his head.

Sportsicus did an aerial cartwheel and landed crouched by his side, smoothing the pain away with her elfin touch as she did so.

Sportacus groaned and smiled weakly.

" Forgot to open it." he said.

Sportsicus straightened and put her hands on her hips, pretending to frown sternly down at him.

" You need to look, and speak, before you flip through a closed door." She said solemnly, before losing her pretense and helping him up, grinning widely at his sheepish expression.

" It's not like I do it all the time or anything." She added, to make him feel better.

As Sportacus opened his mouth to reply, he was interrupted by his crystal.

Glancing down at his chest, he saw it was the kitten up the tree again.

Sighing with a smile and a shake of his head, he called for the door to open.

" Wanna come?" he asked, cocking his head to side as she shook hers.

" No, I think I'll see what the kids are up too and play with them, if they'll have me." she said, a wistful tone coming into her voice, despite her best efforts to seem confident.

Sportacus paused, shook his head slightly, then bounced over to where she stood, looking out over the town.

Placing his hand on her shoulder, he said softly, " It'll be all right, you'll see." He patted her shoulder. " Now go have some fun. That's an order." He added mischievously.

Sportsicus grinned up at him, and watched as he flipped over the edge of the door and was gone.

With a sigh, she followed suit a few seconds later, heading down to the sports field.

After landing nearby, she flipped her way into the gate, and looked around.

All the kids were there, but they hadn't noticed her yet. Quietly, she made her way to the bench, kneeling on it and watching them with piercing blue eyes.

Stephanie felt her gaze and looked up.

" Hey! Sportsicus!" she called, waving the shy girl over with a big smile.

Sportsicus grinned back, and flipped over to stand beside her.

" We were just getting ready to play hide and seek. Wanna play? Pleeeaasse?" Ziggy pleaded.

Sportsicus laughed.

" Of course I'll play, I just am not that good at hide and seek. Can't sit still that long. I'm always the first one found." She explained, smiling at Ziggy's enthusiasm.

" That's okay with us. You can be the seeker." Pixel said, watching her closely for her reaction.

Sportsicus flinched slightly, then smiled, and said yes.

" Okay then, hide everybody before I find you!" Sportsicus covered her eyes and counted to ten as slowly as she could, for as with nearly everything she and Sportacus did, she was a fast talker.

Ms. Busybody often lectured her on how to speak slowly and clearly, like Sportacus, herself, Robbie, and the others. But she never quite got it if she was excited, or worried, or simply not paying attention.

" 9…10!" she called at last, and set off to find the children.

As usual, she saw Ziggy first, but pretended not too. He was the youngest, and had observed Stingy, Pixel, or Trixie finding him first on purpose repeatedly, so she made it a practice not to find him first most of the time.

After flipping over a wall and rolling to look under a bench, she discovered Trixie behind a mailbox. " Found you!" Sportsicus exclaimed, grinning.

" No fair, you always find me first!" Which wasn't true, of course, Trixie just hated to be found first. She always thought she had the best hiding spot. Sportsicus's grin faded.

" I'm sorry." She said, and cartwheeled away to find someone else.

Along the way, she spotted Sportacus playing with the little black kitten. As usual, he was completely entranced by it, stroking it tenderly and wriggling a string in front of the kitten's batting paws.

Sportsicus enjoyed the sight of her friend so happy for a moment, wishing she could get him a cat of his own. But he always said they had no time to properly care for a pet, so he would never allow one in the airship.

Then a thought struck her. Why not have a cat-themed birthday party for him? His birthday was in two days. They were having a surprise party for him, at Stephanie's, and having a theme to it other then sports might be a great idea.

Sportsicus rushed off to find Stephanie. She found Pixel, Stingy, and Ziggy of course, but it took an agonizingly long time till she found that Stephanie had hidden inside the chest of sports balls.

As soon as she found her, Sportsicus hurriedly told her the plan.

" Oh, Sportacus is going to love it!" Stephanie exclaimed quietly. " Let's tell the others!"

The two girls found the other children and told them about the idea. They all agreed it was the best one yet, and so decided to do it.

" One problem." Pixel said, in the middle of their plan making. " Who is in charge of keeping Sportacus busy so he does not find out about the party?"

Everyone fell silent.

" I-I guess we had not thought about that yet." Trixie said slowly. " Who is going to do it, anyway? All of us have to make the party, and Sportsie can't do it, we need her here. Can't we just, send him away part of the day or something? Wait-then no one can get into trouble, as he would just come right back."

This had them stumped for quite a while.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Finally, after tossing many ideas around, and much thoughtful pacing, or flipping, and discussion, Stingy had the winning idea.

" Why not have someone, or all of us, keep him so busy saving us on the other side of town, that he has no time to find out about his party?"

Everybody looked worried for a second. " But, shouldn't we be making it easier on him, for his birthday, instead of harder?" Stephanie asked.

" I think it's great!" Sportsicus said. " You know how we- er, he, is! Loves saving, can't sit still, busy busy busy! That's a great idea, Stingy!" She smiled warmly at the boy.

So it was decided. They would take turns getting into trouble, and Sportsicus would see about getting Robbie to cause trouble too, while they were at it. A chance to "ruin" Sportacus's birthday would be too much for him to pass up.

" So, we invite the whole town at 3 in the after noon two days from now." Pixel was entering the info into his computer.

" Even Robbie." Sportsicus reminded him, not seeing his name on the list.

Trixie rolled her eyes.

" Yes, even Robbie." Pixel muttered still typing.

" And we need cat ears, whiskers, and tail, face paint, balloons, streamers, a sports candy cake, presents, banners, games, and music." Stephanie rattled off as Pixel typed.

" What's all that for?" Trixie asked.

" We can paint our faces to look like cats, and attach whiskers, tails, and ears to us to look more catlike." Stephanie explained.

" Ooh, cool." Trixie giggled. " Even Sportacus?"

" Even Sportacus." Stephanie confirmed.

Sportsicus squealed with delight then clapped her hands over her mouth, looking sheepishly in the direction of Sportacus.

The blue clad superhero flipped over the wall and landed nearby.

" Hi guys!" he greeted them cheerfully.

" Oh, hi Sportacus!" the children said, hiding the lists they were making.

" Sportacus, want to play Lazy-ball?" Sportsicus said quickly, crossing her fingers behind her back so the children could see.

Sportacus's face lit up. " Sure! Come on!" he said enthusiastically.

Lazy-ball was a game where one of the elves threw a football, kicked a soccer ball, and the other hit a baseball across town to each other. They had to flip into the air to hit the baseball, and catch and throw the football back to the other in time to land and kick the soccer ball where it would bounce across town to the other one.

They played that game until it got close to bedtime, allowing the children to make the party plans without Sportacus coming around with his super sensitive hearing.

After bidding the children goodnight, both hero and assistant climbed the ladder to the hovering airship.

Flipping inside, they both began their nightly routine.

Brush teeth, clean up, 50 sit-ups, 100 pushups before 8:08.

Then both vaulted into bed, Sportacus wrapping his arms around his friend to keep her from falling off during the night.

The pillows and covers always popped on while they were in the air, and the cover always was wrapped around their feet when they slid onto the bed, so there was some grunting and pulling until they were comfortable.

They fell asleep almost immediately.

Robbie Rotten, on the other hand, couldn't sleep at all.

He was tossing and turning, images flashing through his mind like tongues of fire.

Touching that elf's ears had brought back some memories he wished to bury.

Saving a young, starving, beaten, nearly dead light/sports elf, returning him back home, running hiding, fearful for his life, then being instantly transported to what he thought was heaven on earth, only to have that pink pixie, even though she was full human, bring back the very same elf he had saved all those years ago, grown up now.

That elf had wrecked his kingdom, and he had pinned him one day and tricked him into giving him a hug.

Robbie squirmed and gritted his teeth.

He did not, DID NOT, want to think about what he had done to the trusting elf.

Robbie saw the elf on the ground, writhing in pain, screaming and covered in his own blood and vomit, having lost bladder control a long time ago. And himself, cruelly twisting and gouging the elf's tender ears, turning them to sheds as fast as they magically healed.

Pressurized, green blood sprayed everywhere. And to top it off, the elf knew who he was, and was pleading for mercy, calling him by name and reminding him if his past kindness in saving his life, even as he nearly lost conciseness from the pain.

Robbie covered his eyes, trying to block out the nightmare.

If that elf took revenge, he was doomed. He just _had_ to get him out of town forever, so he could stay in his lazy kingdom, and never have to worry about sports elves ever again.

Finally, Robbie slept, but his sleep was filled with endless nightmares of loneliness and regret, fear, and pain.

The children and the elves high above slept peacefully, but Robbie was doomed to nightmares. And in his mind, no one cared, not knowing that both elves had seen into his dreams, and they both knew whenever they heard him scream during the night. He never awoke when his worst nightmares faded, because the magical warm breath of one or both elves on his face kept him lulled in peaceful slumber. But they did not come every time. Just when it got too bad, and they could not take Robbie's suffering anymore.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The sun rose on a bright, sunny day in Lazytown. High above, two athletes rolled out of bed, and began stretching.

They then ate a quick breakfast of granola and apple slices, and brushed their teeth.

Then a letter flew in form the mail shoot.

The elves looked at each other in surprise.

" Mail? This early?!" Sportacus exclaimed as he caught it and opened it up.

" It's for you." He said, tossing it to his friend, who deftly caught it and read it out loud.

" Dear Sportsicus, could you come down and spend the day with us today, and a sleepover tonight? It would mean a lot to us! Hope to see you soon, love, Stephanie."

Sportsicus let the letter drop form her hand as she stared blankly out the window.

Sportacus watched her, concerned.

The last time she had received a sleepover invitation, she had freaked out.

What Sportacus didn't know, and Sportsicus did, was that this was an undercover way to get the female elf able to help with the birthday party planning without Sportacus hanging around so much.

After a few moments of thinking, she turned to her worried friend.

" I'll go."

Sportacus caught her up in a huge, crushing hug that would have broken ordinary human ribs.

" That's my girl." He whispered, tears in his eyes. " I knew you could do it."

Sportsicus laid her head on his well-muscled chest, breathing in deeply of his warmth and kindness.

She knew he had been hoping for this for years now.

She had been so clingy ever since she had arrived, that she freaked out every time she got an invitation to a sleepover.

Sportacus had been trying to instill confidence in her, and now the long awaited day was here; his beautiful girl-elf was ready to go a whole night without him to comfort and watch over her.

He was proud to bursting of her, and surprised himself by feeling a sudden pang in his heart.

 _Now, no time to go missing her, high time she got off on her own for once,_ he silently scolded himself.

So the morning routine was stayed, instead they got all of the she-elf's things packed into her backpack for the day and night she was to stay below.

It wasn't much, as Stephanie was bound to provide all she really needed, so all she packed was the usual sports candy snacks and the stuffed toy dog she had since the first Christmas they had spent together.

It smell of Sportacus, and she secretly was still frightened of staying away from him for a whole night alone.

After that, they exchanged another silent, firm hug, then she flipped off the edge and was gone.

Sportacus wiped a tear form his eyes and proceeded to exercise as usual, determined not to spend the day worrying or missing his Elvin companion.

Sportsicus flew her pedal ship down to Stephanie's house and landed softly, as always.

She stood for a moment, unsure, and after glancing longingly up at the airship she called home.

Then she took a deep breath and dove through the open window.

All her Lazytown friends were waiting inside.

" Good morning!" the beautiful elfin hero greeted them with a smile. " You are all up early today."

" Good morning, Sportsicus." All the children chorused.

The she-elf smiled, feeling more at ease as she deposited her backpack next to the pile of the other kid's stuff.

She had not taken the backpack off for quite some time, and it felt strange not to have it.

 _Not like I'll be needing it today._ She thought remorsefully, glancing out the window again, an action not missed by her every ready teaser, Trixie.

" Missing Sportacus already, Little Miss Sportapet?" Trixie teased.

Sportsicus ignored her, and Stephanie stepped in.

" Trixie, that's not very nice." Stephanie said to her dark-haired friend.

Pixel chimed in: " Yeah, Trixie, knock it off!"

" Yeah, she's a superhero **just like** Sportacus! That means NO TEASING!" Ziggy stated emphatically.

" Thanks, guys." Sportsicus said thankfully.

" Well, it's true; she is a hero's pet." Trixie protested, making Sportsicus fidget and wish she had never came, as Stingy nodded his agreement with Trixie. .

" No, she is a hero's helper, and that means she is always at the ready, and they are both best of friends; you should tell her you're sorry." Stephanie said.

Trixie rolled her eyes and said in an exasperated tone, " Sorry, Sportagirl."

Sportsicus fought to remain calm. " Sure, Trixie."

Stephanie bit her lip and watched nervously as the wound up girl hero began pacing like a caged animal as Trixie watched with piercing eyes.

" Let's get started, okay guys?" Stephanie finally said with a bright smile. " My uncle said we could use the town hall to store all the supplies and decorations for the party until tomorrow. Come on!"

All the children ran out of the house after her, with Sportsicus bringing up the rear, keeping a sharp eye out for her heroic friend, who doubtlessly was nearby.

She was right when she saw a familiar blue hat duck behind a wall, and she quietly left the group of kids and flipped onto of the wall, looking down at a concerned Sportacus.

She grinned at him and hopped down next to him, giving him a quick hug.

"How are you doing?" he asked her quietly, though he already sensed something was the matter.

" Trixie called me a hero's pet." His companion answered, snuggling into him for comfort.

Sportacus looked a bit upset.

" That's not nice." He mused to himself.

" Sportsicus! Where are you?" Stephanie was calling, a worried tone to her normally cheerful voice.

" Gotta go." Sportsicus sighed regretfully.

She would rather stay with Sportacus the rest of the day, taking part and enjoying every bit of the training, saving, playing, talking, and all the good natured teasing between the two best friends.

He gave her a quick hug and let her go, watching as she bounded over the wall and back to her friends.

" Where'd you go, huh? Back to Sportacus? He is probably glad for the break from babysitting you. Just stay here and **grow up**." Trixie's scalding tone broke into her thoughts of what a normal day would have been like by now.

Sportsicus knew Sportacus was probably fuming on the other side of the wall, so she responded with: " And if he was standing right here, would you say that?"

Trixie seemed at a lose for words after that, and they continued the rest of the way in a strained silence, which Stephanie finally broke when they reached the town hall.

"Okay, everybody listen up." She said in her biggest voice. " We are all friend, right?"

Everybody nodded.

" So lets shake hands and agree that there will be no more bad teasing going on. Right?"

Stephanie looked around as Sportsicus eagerly stepped up, and one by one all the others followed suit, Trixie last of all.

" Hey, Sportsicus, I'm sorry for teasing you earlier, it wasn't nice." Trixie said quietly.

Sportsicus picked up the younger girl in a tight hug.

" I forgive you, Trixie. Let's just be friends now, shall we?" And with that, the happy group of children and elf entered the town hall, full of ideas and plans.


End file.
